Gareth Barry has revealed he has considered quitting
international football.
Barry's revelation comes in the wake of the decision of Liverpool's
Jamie Carragher to contemplate retirement from the international
fold.
The Aston Villa captain has been consistently in and out of the
England squad reckoning since he made his international debut in
the friendly 1-1 draw with France in 2000 and he says he has
considered following Carragher's lead if he is not going to secure
a consistent place.
"I admit there have been times when I've wondered whether England
was worth worrying about anymore," Barry told The Sun.
Barry, 26, has the honour of being one of the few players still
involved in the England set-up to have played under all five
England managers - Kevin Keegan, Sven Goran Eriksson, Steve
McClaren and caretaker bosses Howard Wilkinson and Peter Taylor -
this decade.
However, the versatile midfielder admits that his recent snub from
current England boss McClaren for the squads which faced Brazil in
a friendly and Estonia in a Euro 2008 qualifier was one of the
lowest point of his career.
"It's a strange statistic that I have played for every England boss
in the last seven years and still haven't reached double figures
for caps," Barry said.
"I was really sick about being left out of the squads for Brazil
and Estonia.
"I was playing some of the best football of my life at the end of
last season and thought I was finally getting somewhere with
England.
"I couldn't think of anything else I could have done to get picked,
it was one of the most disappointing moments of my career."
Barry added that his ability to adapt to a range of positions could
be hampering his England chances because McClaren is unaware of his
best role, but the Villa man says that he will not be demanding his
club manager Martin O'Neill hands him a regular midfield
slot.
"If I was looking to boost my international career I'd go in and
see Martin O'Neill and say centre-midfield is where I want to play,
but that's not the way I am," Barry concluded.
